Basketball from a fans perspective

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It begins tonight

Are you ready, college basketball begins tonight with a slate of games scheduled throughout the nation. Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Florida and Alabama are just a few of the schools beginning play. The early portion of the season those above and others generally play a light schedule. Up till now the opposition has been scrimmages against other roster members, now they face real opposition beginning now. Later Kansas will be matched against North Carolina and Duke, Kentucky will also play North Carolina and afterwards it’s Purdue. These games and others will be played before conference play begins business-like in January.

Attention-grabbing 

I’ve mentioned this previously, research has allowed me to stumble onto stories on more than one occasion. What you are about to read is one of those instances. I have no idea how good (or bad) Cal basketball will be for the upcoming season. Despite my statement they likely have a roster containing a few athletes with renown family members. Some reading this might remember Peja Stojakovic, he was a sharpshooting forward for the Kings who spent the bulk of his career during the team’s most successful years to date. Peja has a son on the Cal team, Andrej who is a 6 foot 7 205 pound guard.

I’m sure Cal fans hope Andrej shoots the rock like his dad. Moving on from there also on the roster is Hugh Vandeweghe a 6 foot 7 215 pound forward, his family connection is Uncle Kiki. Kiki first played at UCLA before beginning his NBA career play for several teams. Stephon Marbury II is a 6 foot 1 170 pound point guard, his father Stephon Sr. after playing at Georgia Tech was a member of quite a few NBA teams. The father left the NBA in 2010 and journeyed to China where he became a legendary player in the Chinese Basketball Association. There are likely other basketball programs with similar connections, I thought this story might be noteworthy for some.

He's got goals

During my work career I’ve always been encouraged to set goals. The purpose I believe is to establish a plan which over time will lead to success. In the instance you are about to read it is goal setting however it certainly is a slight bit different. The Warriors Draymond Green has been an integral part of the success of the team over time. Green has long been a source of technical fouls, these have often led to a victory by the opposition.

The NBA doesn’t actually track them however ESPN claims Green has received double-digit techs in each of the last 10 seasons. After your reading check this portion out, “I’m gonna have less than 10 technical fouls this year,” Green said. “I might even make a decision to keep it even less than eight, but I’ve got to make a conscious decision and I don’t even know if I want to keep it at eight. But I’m definitely going to have less than 10."  That's it, his explanation. 

There is no need

You might remember a Top 10 NBA draft pick purchasing a home or a vehicle for his family be it mom or mom and dad. That’s done after signing that first check that says, “welcome you have arrived.” That scenario might play out for a number of 2025 NBA draft picks but not Cooper Flagg. The Duke freshman has been conducting business prior to him being possibly the number one draft choice in 2025. As you are aware Name, Image and Likeness has changed the college landscape significantly.

In late summer you read Flagg signed a shoe and apparel deal with New Balance. Although the company is not on the level of Nike, Air Jordan or Adidas having Cooper endorse their apparel should raise their name in the marketplace. In late October Gatorade made the announcement, they signed Flagg to their brand. In both instances the dollar amount of these agreements is not mentioned, despite the fact we have no idea of the financial arrangement of either they are likely significant. Although he’s certainly not at the level of Patrick Mahomes we could see the number of commercials and guess the amount of money Flagg could potentially earn in the future with a good management team.

JJ Redick’s team

The Lakers opening night roster certainly appears to have JJ Redicks fingerprints all over it. Three roster members will work under 2-way contracts which entails spending time with the South Bay Lakers but could spend up to 50 games with the parent club. Just who are these newbies, first note neither of the three were drafted by the Lakers. A name mentioned much earlier is Christian Koloko who is now cleared to play and is ramping it up with the South Bay Lakers, hopefully at some point in the not too distant future that approval to play should occur. 

Next is French pro player Armel Traore a 6 foot 9 215 pound forward, he went undrafted in 2024. Colin Castleton was waived and a two-way contract was extended to Quincy Olivari a 6 foot 3 point guard. Olivari played at Xavier but like Traore went undrafted in 2024. I can only believe Redick and the coaching staff saw something in these three to believe they had value. This can be affirmed by waiving Castleton despite his 6 foot 10 250 pound size. In spite of my apparent excitement with the beginning of the NBA season I remain in a holding pattern. As I often say, “I’m from Missouri you’ve got to Show Me” which says I expect improved play from the Lakers.